Nothing Left to Give
by mlbleach14
Summary: With Aizen gone, Karakura town was able to revert back to its once peaceful state. But when demonic creatures begin to appear, spouting verses of an Apocalypse, the soul reapers will have to find help elsewhere for this final battle between good and evil.
1. Chapter 1

**All themes and characters of Bleach belong to Tite Kubo. Any other themes and characters of this story belong to MlBleach14**

The Assassin's Dream

Chapter 1

The music was loud- almost to a point of being unbearable- but the presence of the lead singer in front of the crowd was enough for them to ignore the gradual ringing in their ears. She was mesmerizing; and had every man's attention, as they tried to gather themselves closer to the foot of the stage, their bodies dripping with sweat from the unbearable temperatures of the underground music venue. She was not ignorant to this. No, she knew that she was in every man's dream, in every conversation, but she chose to pay no attention to it. Her coy smile grew wider as she saw the man of her affection towards the back of the club, watching her every move as if she would, for some unknown reason, disappear from this very existence. He watched on, leaning against the rough cement walls of the music venue, and a small smirk played at his lips while he watched the young woman belt out her trials and tribunes through the electronic dance music her group was known for. He would never forget the day the two met; the day he finally was able to have something tangible to live for and to protect. He was drawn out of his musings when he felt a slight vibration in the front pocket of his jeans. He withdrew his cell phone and sighed when he realized his small effort of pulling his cell phone out was only for the possible pointless text message. He absently checked who the message was sent from and drew a strong intake of breath when he saw the name. A shaky thumb pressed the 'OK' button to open up the message:

_Ryan,_

_I must speak with you immediately. Please bring Elle along._

_-Commander Thomas_

The band was ending their final act of the night and the young female lead singer bounced off the front stage towards the boy she saw lustfully staring her down throughout her show. She mindlessly dismissed all the 'great job' and 'you go girl' comments coming from the adoring audience and continued on her journey to the back of the club. Her smile slowly drifted from her face as she saw the state the young man was in. His face had shifted from the one he held earlier to another of upmost worry, to the point where he had failed to notice the girl popping up in front of his face.

"Ryan? Is everything alright?" She asked, expressing her empathy for the worrisome boy and laid her hand on his upper arm as a sign of her comfort and understanding- an attempt to get him to speak. The boy shifted his gaze so his eyes were at dead lock with the girl's in front of him.

"I got a text from Commander Thomas saying I need to speak with him, immediately." He sighed, contemplating on how he would phrase the next part. It wasn't everyday that the commander would want to see the rouge assassin, Elle, and that only meant that Ryan was faced with another strong force of foreboding. The young woman continued to stare curiously at the boy, encouraging him to continue. "Elle, it seems that he wants you to come along as well."

Elle looked at him with astoundment. It has nearly been a year since she left her destiny as an assassin to be in a dance pop group. She argued that the group had actually a chance to make it big and they were nearly there- finally catching the attention of some LA agents and music producers. Catching and destroying soulless demons was not what she wanted to do her entire lifetime, let along her teenage years- the ones that were supposedly the best of someone's life. Now her almost forgotten past was there beckoning for her return. "W-why?" She managed to sputter the one word that escaped from her lips. Her shock was no more lessened when Ryan sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in towards him. She clinched the front of his Ralph Lauren polo shirt and laid her forehead against his broad chest. "I don't understand. He said nothing when I left and now- now he wants to speak with me?" Her words didn't make her feel any better and she shook her head and backed away from Ryan, shoving against his chest. "No. I'm not going."

Ryan only met her eyes with disdain, fretting over what he would have to tell her. "Elle, you know you have no choice. You are still a part of us even though you left. You are the infinite prodigy- an important piece to the assassins. Did you really think that they were going to leave you alone?"

The infinite prodigy- words she did not want to hear. Born with the mark of infinity on her lower right abdomen. That mark decided her destiny before she was able to comprehend words. She became the trump card; the one who will "save the world." His plea was returned with a snarl and her eyes narrowed at his betraying allegiance. "And did you think that I wanted this? That I had the choice? You're so naive." With that, she turned her back on him and started to make her leave towards backstage, but she was stopped by a sharp grasp on her wrist. "Let go." She clenched her teeth and tried to release the hold, but failed in the battle of brute strength. His power mirrored hers. It was only natural since he was so well-known- getting the occasional "let's go to lunch" or "lakers tickets, u in?" from people such as Bruno Mars and Chris Pine. Ryan was a born celebrity. The American people relished the assassins, thanking them on many occasions for their ruthlessness and selflessness in killing off the demons that threatened their safety. She turned back to him, surrendering, knowing that there was only one end to this. She was going to see the commander, whether she liked it or not. She put a hand on her hip and feigned annoyance, trying to find any lie or cheat to flee this situation. As she came up with no solution, she let her hair fall along her back from the position it had laid upon her shoulder as she swept away in pursuit of the door, leaving a bewildered Ryan forced to follow in a path laid in fury.

The two teenagers stepped within the conference room, looking much dimmer at night than at the usual day meetings that were held. A stout man sat at the end of a large desk, his head resting in his palm, as he sifted through papers filled with statistics and observations. When he felt the presence of two familiar persons approach, he slowly lifted his forehead off his hand and smiled with obvious exhaustion at the two before him. He stood and strode over to the two, extending his hand to Ryan who took it in his and slightly bowed to the greater presence. He nodded in acknowledgement and moved over to Elle. His smile brightened as he took in the presence of the girl before him.

"Well, it's been a long while, hasn't it?" He asked, as he extended his hand out to the girl.

She hesitantly took it and replied with a mock statement of sarcasm. "Not long enough." Once she withdrew, she slinked back into a position of annoyance as the man sat back down at the desk before them.

Ryan was the first to speak after the man was back at his desk. "Commander, may I ask what you have asked us here for?"

The commander straightened in his chair and looked at the boy standing tall in front of him. "Ah, yes. You see, I have located the warped presence we have become aware of. I am going to send a duo team out to assimilate into the environment and investigate the cause of the recent chaos. Seeing that you two are my most capable warriors, I would like to send you out to investigate. That won't be two much of a problem, will it?"

Ryan nodded towards the commander and glanced at an annoyed Elle before replying. "Of course not. Where, may I ask, is this strange presence coming from?"

The commander sifted through the papers again, searching for something. "Ah, here it is." He looked harder at the paper and drew it closer to his piercing gaze. "The location you will investigate is located in Japan. Karakura Town, Japan, specifically."

"Karakura town? I have never heard of such a pathetic place in my lifetime. Why can't we go somewhere more fascinating, like France or Rome, since I obviously have no choice on the-" Elle's complaint was ended with a sharp elbow to the side. She spun to fire a punch back at Ryan, but was stopped when he saw the look of authority resting in his eyes. "You fool," she spat. "Whenever did you think you owned authority over me? You really think you have power? What lies have these people been feeding you?"

Ryan stared at her shocked. "I-," he stammered, completely lost for words.

"Enough!" It was in turn the commander speaking up. "Last time I checked, you had left this association, making Ryan superior to you, and I'm not sure of your awareness to his promotion-"

"Promotion," Elle seethed. "You received a promotion, and you had the audacity not to inform me of it? Real honorable, Ryan. Obviously you have no confidence in your skills. Some things never change." Her fists were now curled up into tight balls, her skin glowing with white, red, blood-shot, lines threatening to rise to the surface. She turned- deciding she would have no part of this- and left towards the door. A strong grip to her shoulder caused her to stop, almost tripping over her feet in the process.

The commander displayed no emotion to the back of the girl. He could almost see steam elevating from the furious girl, her rage flowing throughout her blood. He spoke. "I'm sorry, Miss Cristiano, but I do believe that, even though you self-proclaimed separation from us, still have no choice in the matter. You will depart, with Ryan as your escort, to investigate Karakura Town. Do you understand me?" Nothing came from the girl. The commander took this as a notion to continue. "The captains and I have been researching the area to see if there were any presences that resembled our assassin race. We found these 'soul reapers'- odd spiritual entities that are in fact human but do not reside in a living human body. They ward off creatures, much like the demons here, called hollows. Be very wary of these so called soul reapers. They might have a part in this warped vision I've been sensing." He paused and smiled at the two assassins standing, slouching at exhaustion from the late night meeting. "Very well then, you two should be on your way. Good luck in Japan, and return to the U.S. not too beat up." With that, he smiled, and sent the two on the long and brutal journey that laid before them.

Hi all! Mlbleach14 here with her first story on :D I hope to be able to update frequently, as I am out of classes for the summer. Nevertheless, as for everyone else, reviews will keep me going strong, so if you enjoy this story, let me know! Thanks for reading :o)


	2. Chapter 2

**All themes and characters of Bleach belong to Tite Kubo. **

**All themes and characters otherwise mentioned belong to MlBleach14.**

The Demon

Chapter 2

It was, as of yet, a normal day in Karakura. Ichigo was woken up by his hyperactive dad, causing the entire family to fall into hysteria. Rukia only stood to the side and watched the exploding men bantering about fighting skills and "acting your own age." These constant episodes eventually came natural to her as she cherished the raucous behavior coming from the Kurosaki family. It was the perfect substitute to wake her up from that monstrosity of a beverage, coffee. It has been only a couple of months since Aizen finally fell in defeat and everything since then has finally fallen into somewhat of a routine. School and fighting hollows became a daily activity of the duo, along with Ichigo's Quiny friend, Uryu, the benevolent Chad and the healer, Orihime. Rukia couldn't help but let a small snicker past her lips as the two men rolled around on the carpet like two pigs in mud. Ichigo's younger sister, Karin, looked more annoyed than ever as she set her eyes on the scene before her. With a sharp punch from the young Kurosaki in the father's ribs, the two violent Kurosaki men eventually began to calm down, enough for them to be able to eat breakfast without someone requiring medical attention. After finishing his breakfast and thanking his other sister, Yuzu, Ichigo left the table, beginning to gripe about heading to another day of boring high school, leaving Rukia to follow behind his hurried pace. A sudden wave of panic hit her because for some unknown reason, Rukia felt like this wasn't going to be an ordinary day.

Elle stood in front of the full length mirror, checking out the image that was reflected right back to her. She looked at herself and muttered how uniforms were so disgusting. She already missed the American school system letting her wear whatever she wanted. Leaning forward, she took one last check of her makeup, and saw through the reflection Ryan coming through the door.

"Elle, if we don't leave now, we're going to be late." He leaned against the door frame and took in the petite girl before him, trying to wear the school uniform as risque as possible. "By the way, I would tone down on trying to look like a catholic school girl. I don't want any troublesome teenage boys trying to get their hands on you."

Elle smirked at his warning and left the mirror to approach the young man leaning against her door. "Jealous much? Please don't get into too many fights, at least for my sake." She put on her best innocent face as she tugged the hem of her skirt down, now covering a necessary amount of her long legs.

Ryan laughed as he pulled her closer and fastened another button on her uniform shirt. "It's not me I'm worried about, it's you. You know you are much more violent than I am." With a small peck on her lips, he turned to leave, but was stopped by the warmth of a familiar hand on his back.

"Ryan, why did you lie to me about your promotion? We've been together long before I left-" She was cut off by the hostile glare directed towards her.

"Exactly. You left. My position shouldn't even matter to you and besides, I didn't think you would even care." With that said, he left her there to stand, bewildered, as he headed out of the apartment for class.

"Of course I would care." The words never reached his ear, though, as the loud slamming of the front door silenced those said by the woman inside.

"Students, please sit down," the teacher warned again before being forced to take disciplinary action. "We have new students today. Is this the impression we want to leave?"

Rukia leaned into Ichigo. "New students, eh? I wonder if it's boys. That makes me so excited!" She left reality to dream about her favorite idol coming to their school wearing a Chappy logo shirt. A small blush crept on her face as her greatest fantasy started to turn explicit.

"Rukia, let it go," Ichigo complained. New students always gave him a odd sensation, whether there was a logical reason or not. Perhaps it was after the awkward few weeks with the strange Shinji Hirako as a student in their school, but he couldn't figure out the exact reason. "New students are always a bigger hype than they turn out to be." He looked over to the girl sitting in the desk beside him, groaning as he realized that nothing of what he just said was heard by the fantasizing person.

Little did Ichigo know, his speculation would turn out to be completely opposite. The two students walked in, a self-assured aura wafting around them, as if they were celebrities. Rukia and Ichigo stared in awe, taking in the two beautiful foreigners in front of them. The boy was tall, but muscular, and he looked relaxed leaning up against the chalkboard, hands buried in his pockets. His shirt collar was popped, but his jacket collar remained ironed and pristine. He glanced at the class in front of him, his sky blue eyes raking in the surprise plastered on the students' faces. His shaggy dirty-blonde hair fell softly on his face, giving him a shy but naughty look all at the same time. The girl beside was the complete opposite- her hair long and flowing loosely along her thin frame. The platinum blonde tint to her hair complimented her aqua eyes and tanned skin. She stood tall, despite her lack in height, and flaunted her improvisation to the school uniform she was wearing. She opened up her glossy lips to speak, but was interrupted by the teacher in front of them.

"Now class, this is Elle Cristiano and Ryan Black. They are exchange students from America!" Her enthusiasm was overwhelming and the exchange students gaped at her, wondering if everyone here was so starstruck over foreigners. "Please help them feel at home."

Elle immediately noticed a rare spot of orange towards the back corner of the classroom and her interest was automatically piqued. When the teacher dismissed them to their seats, she made her way back to the orange-haired boy slouched in his chair. _Something feels strange about him. It's like he has some sort of power to him- not of a soul reaper though- he's human._ She plopped down in the desk across from the boy and extended her hand to him. "Hi there! I'm Elle," she said. "And you are?"

He looked at her hand as if it was infected, sensing something strange about the spiritual power within her, like she had thought before him. "Ichigo Kurosaki," he mumbled, taking her hand lightly in his, shaking it out of politeness.

"My, what a strong grip we have," she mused. "If it was any stronger, I'm afraid my hand would no longer be recognizable." She laughed at her attempt to jokingly break the ice, causing a small smile to find its way onto Ichigo's face. Although she had a strange presence to her, she seemed harmless and not to mention, extremely good looking.

"Well, thank you," Ichigo replied, a faint genuine smiling gracing his features. "Sometimes my own strength worries me."

She laughed. "So strong that you could easily beat me in a fight?" She flexed her muscles and gave him a feigned death glare, failing in all attempts to frighten him.

"I'll hold you to that," Ichigo taunted. "Show me what you've got, sometime, alright?"

Elle smirked. "Oh I will." Plopping down in a seat next to the window, she turned to look at the courtyard below. "I so will."

She was left to her musings, as the teacher began lecturing the class on electrochemistry. It wasn't long, though, until she felt the presence of a far too familiar being not far away from the building they were currently in. She frantically turned towards Ryan, mouthing the word 'demon,' as he already was in the process of nodding, telling her that he had felt it too. It was coming their way, as the pressure of it's presence came crashing down upon all of the inhabitants in it's perimeter. She saw the boy, Ichigo, stand up and search around him, trying to somehow grasp the feeling he was getting from the nearing monster. He rushed out of the room, grabbing onto a small badge hanging from him belt, as a few other students soon followed him in haste. Elle stood up to join them as well, but was stopped by a broad arm blocking her path. "Ryan-"

"I know you felt it too. There's something weird about that orange-headed kid." Elle nodded in agreement. "We will stay back and watch, unless they find themselves needing our help." By this time, the demon's spiritual pressure was too much for the others to handle, and Ryan and Elle found themselves as the only conscious ones left in the room.

"Ichigo!" The said man turned around to find his friends chasing after him. Rukia was the first to reach him and punched him hard in the ribs. Ichigo scrambled back, yelling at Rukia for her sudden attack. "You can feel that thing, Ichigo! It isn't a hollow!" It was then, throughout her frantic screaming, that he realized that Rukia was having difficulties breathing. She swayed from foot to foot as the fatigue began to take over. "Ichigo, I don't know what it is, but it's strong. You'll get yourself killed if you try anything."

Ichigo turned away from her and the rest of the crew that was watching the exchange from the background. "If I didn't try anything, then who would?"

It was Uryu's turn to bring the irrational boy back to his senses. "Kurosaki, even I am having difficulties with this being's spiritual pressure. You surely will be killed." The Quincy could tell that the soul reaper wasn't listening and scoffed at the stubbornness of the boy. "Do what you can, Kurosaki, but withdraw if it becomes too much."

"It won't." Ichigo tried to pinpoint the exact location of where such a presence was coming from and found it without much hesitation. It was only yards away from him now and Ichigo took in its features with a look of complete shock on his face. The creature was disgusting; it's human-like body marred with scars and burns of different colorings and textures. Its scalp was in the process of corroding and hairs were either gone or hanging barley onto loose skin. It was a decaying corpse, that somehow was able to contract a spirit to reside within it. Ichigo immediately flew off to battle it and during his flight, released a great number of getsuga tenshos in its direction. He couldn't help but grinning when he saw each attack hit dead on, but the grin was gone as quickly as it came when the creature flew out of the wreckage and clawed a deep gash into Ichigo's chest with ease. Blood cascaded out of his chest, almost like a waterfall, and he could feel that his lungs were ripped open with those claws as well.

Orihime gasped as she saw Ichigo fall to the creature's first attack and already had the infamous golden dome surrounding him. The creature growled at in annoyance and began harshly kicking at it causing a few cracks here and there. She knew she had to get closer for it to stay intact. Uryu's hand on her shoulder motioned for her to stay with him and Chad, but she shrugged it off and ran out to the injured boy. The creature took notice of her approach and swung fast and hard at her. She looked on in fear as it almost ripped into her as well, coming back for another swing. It came closer each time, and was almost to the point of hitting her straight on. She scrambled away and was gaining distance, but tripped over herself causing a sharp jolt of pain to her ankle, making her immobile for only a brief second. That second was just enough time for the creature to attack and she sat, wide-eyed, waiting for the claws to dig into her.

They never came. She looked and saw the very girl that had been introduced to her class that morning, with her sword drawn and holding the creature at bay. "Decay, Radium." The sword glowed a bright neon green and the monster was instantly screeching in pain as the body touching the blade began to completely melt away. It was a slow and grueling process and more than just the outside of the monster could be seen. Orihime had to close her eyes in disgust, as the image before her became too much for her to bear. The screeching came to a halt, beckoning her to finally open them again, and she saw nothing left but the girl requesting for her sword to simply "go back." It was disintegrated into nothing but particles reflecting the light of the sun, and reappeared as a ring on her right hand.

"Who are you?" She managed to ask and the girl turned around to give her a disdainful look. Orihime looked over towards the school and saw the other from this morning leaning against the concrete outer walls near their classroom, his arms tightly folded against his chest.

Elle scoffed at the trembling girl before her. Though she had interesting powers, the girl was nothing but mere trash in her eyes. Even the boy she felt had great power within him was a disappointment. "That thing you just faced and nearly got killed by, is a demon. As for I and my friend over there, we are nothing of your concern."

"Wait!" Orihime rushed to get on her feet and catch the retreating girl. "What if another one of those things comes back? Will you help us?"

"Don't even think of us as your allies. Soon this world is going to be every man for himself. Everything you know and love will be gone. Don't expect someone to always be there to lend you a hand."

And with that said, Elle, and the boy, were long gone.

666

Another chapter done! I hope you all are beginning to enjoy this. I hope to have another up soon! Reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading :D


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